Straight No Chaser: Social Studies

DENVER (BASN) — The symbolic value of this nation’s first ebony President golfing, as the Gulf burns, . . . is adding insult to injury

I don’t think folks fully understand the roles and clear distinct differences between sports in America; there’s a country club division and a city rec center division, some sports have mass appeal and street creed, and some don’t. It’s simple, but complex.

At the Romper Room level; basketball, baseball and football, followed by Boxing, track n’ field, and wrestling; these sports, long offered in most public schools since the end of WWII , they’ve been institutionalized in American life, they’ve all mass-appeal . . . .

While, on the other hand, golf, tennis, soccer, cross-country marathon running, across; these endeavors were deemed country club sports, set aside for the kids on the other side of town.

Only suburban or private schools won city and state championships in these sports – because only their students were wealthy enough to become interested and proficient at polo.

A number of societal factors have contributed to the painting n’ tainting of sports – the rejection of some, the embracing of others; basketball has gained international appeal, while losing aging U.S. White males who don’t see enough Larry Birds on the court to relate to the game any longer.

While Blacks have walked away from this nation’s once proud national pastime, baseball. We redefined it, and now reject it, and the WASP fan-base and sponsorship is pleased with this reversal of progress.

Wrestling was set aside for the last of the Neanderthals – the guys who ran-around with trash bags on, had cauliflower ears. Old school coaches always encouraged linemen guys on D fullbacks to wrestle – to toughen you up.

Boxing, reserved for barbarians, your descendants of some “warrior” class.

Cross country was for the “twig-people” – guys who looked like chicks, chicks who looked like guys, chest-less, breast-less, ass-less. It wasn’t very popular with the brothers n’ sisters till the increased immigration of the last decade or so.

No one knows who won the Boston Marathone . . . this year or last – but they Know who Al Davis is and they know the Babe. One’s dead and the other ought to be.

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Tennis remains, despite Venus n’ Serena – a sport considered somewhat class conscience, pre-occupied with what its brain-trust considers “dignified.” The Williams duo appear to be doing battle, hand-to-hand combat with the tight assed Puritan tradition which still commands the sport.

Soccer, in the America I grew up in, the one from 1960′s through the the 80′s – was, without debate, a sport believed played by sissies, wimps, nerds, fags, foreigners, geeks, dicks, pricks , punks, weasels. and mostly rich kids.

It wasn’t played in South-Central, L.A., nor Plano Texas . . .

The crew-cut coaches and Covodus wearing players generation wasn’t playing no kick ball, and their kids sure as hell weren’t. And, sure enough, I, nor any of my peers – guys coming out of high school circa 1979 played it, and our sons didn’t play it.

The unspoken rule ; only soft or weird kids played this fake substitute for football called “soccer.”

Let’s not pull any punches here; Your weak-ass dad lost out to your over-bearing dominating mother – who felt that football was “too dangerous” for little Bobby – you heard this one – “I’m no …… , it’s just that my mom thinks I’ll get hurt. “

Soccer Moms are the precursor to phobic moms, the wives of marshmallow-soft fathers who’ve attacked dodge ball, attempted to curtail winners and losers in both the classroom and on the playing field and forced their kids to strap- “Crash-helmets” to ride their bikes, cut the grass, take-out the trash . . . . It is these people who’ve created “X-Sports” – Extreme skateboarding, Extreme Kite Flying, Extreme Four Square, Extreme Tether-Ball, Extreme Jacks . . . .

Extreme Marbles . . . I couldn’t help myself.

No, these stereoscopically-laden perspectives aren’t totally right . . . .nor fair. But, most of the US fell-in somewhere along this line of Dewey Simpleton thought – and they are rooted in truths.

Nevertheless, with immigration rising, illegal and legal, the world is bringing soccer to America. Participation in soccer from the pee-wee leagues on up – is up.

Noting the present-day racial tension: which is but one Rodney King incident, one shot at this President . . . from “the Revolution Will Not Be Televised” – admitting football and basketball, after high school – is practically off-limits to most aspiring white players – both sports are endlessly searching for Great White Hopes to pacify and placate the public, push products to the conservative, angry white male fan-base.

Under these societal conditions – perhaps with the US team’s respectable showing in South Africa serving as a catapult for kick-ball – soccer has a greater chance of sticking.

Golf was, and in many respects remains the official aristocratic pastime. Aspiring fat-cats fatten their IPod Rolodex of yet-to-be-fleeced friends n’ associates while hittin’ a few balls.

Guys in their 20′s who’ve had to let go of the NCAA/NFL/NBA/MLB wet-dream find solitude on the links and the aging 39 inch waisted jock – who likes to make-believe golf’s a “sport,” and they’re still “sportsmen.”

Of-course it helps them to hang-on to their man-hood a little longer, pretend they’re “athletes” walking the greens, tell their bored wives how far they drove their balls this morning . . . .

Golf endures as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny – in Bobby Jones attire – with “Rochester” caddying. Tiger, before he came-out of the hot-tub, in his bath robe – as heir-apparent to Hugh Hefner – had not done much to erase the elitist tag golf is branded with, no actually Tiger, with his official honorary White guy decoder ring and Passport, with the private planes, trains, boats and blimps reinforced the country club image of the “sport.” Golf is one of the last bastions of WASP exclusivity for wealthy white sportsmen.

That is exactly how it has been, and that’s the desired, preferred way it stay in the minds of the American establishment.

Sure, the more money you have -the less they see your skin -color – but their ain’t much love in the room. So when “the Right” in this country eyeballs this President golfing, after he “shook-down” British Petrol’s pale poster-boys . . . .

It just don’t set-well. This particular President, relaxin’ n’ maxin’, “slapping’ whitey” – while he dresses down a GI Ken doll dressed as a 7-star army general . . . simply adds insult to to a 3rd degree compound fracture – this black man playing emperor, running the entire operation, hirin’ n’ firin White men . . . .

Pissing-off the military/multi-nationalistic-corporatist/pharmaceutical/Wall St. complex